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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wow. I wasn't expecting this book to turn out the way that it did. I can’t remember the last time I got emotional over a book but this left me with watery eyes. The author does an impeccable job at telling the story of four hopeful, vastly different yet similar kids who embark on their journey at a boarding school that they hope will change their lives for the better. What happens in the time that they are at High Realms is so heart breaking relatable, so devastating, it’s a roller coaster of emotions that make you question how far you would go to protect your friends and those you love. It also paints a very raw and brutal portrait of what unchecked trauma does to a person especially when it’s compounded with events that continue to tear you apart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
A contender for the crown of dark academia, a genre that can be traced back to Donna Tartt's The Secret History and sprawls across into fantasy with last year's Babel by R. F. Kuang. High Realms is an exclusive boarding school that needs bright scholarship students to bring it the academic cache its rich alumni don't always have. This is the tale of four, misfits, bound together by their working class origins and the fact that they are way out of their depth in everything but their academic studies. High Realms thrives on secrecy, brutality and fear and the four new souls are sucked right in to the heart of the darkness.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rose, Marta, Sami and Lloyd are all scholarship students at the prestigious High Realms school in the late 90s.
These kids went through a lot. Love, revenge, school, guilt, loss, betrayal and more.
Certainly intriguing and interesting but boy howdy if this was an actual school it would have been shut down years ago.
I just have one question-What’s with all the physical bullying and pushing others at this school????
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An atmospheric and intensely foreboding, dark academia that follows four scholarship students and their often brutal experiences at a prestigious boarding school at the turn of the millennium (‘99-00.)
I did enjoy this as the writing was soo compulsive, with its vividly descriptive (slow burn) exploration of the each of the characters’ experiences at High Realms and the systemic failures of the UK’s private education system. But, it was quite tough to get through emotionally, as soo many of the themes and events centre around pretty dark/ bleak topics. As such I’d definitely recommend checking out the TWs first, as I did find quite a few scenes pretty harrowing.
I wasn’t nearly as diligent and found myself struggling to continue (particularly in the second half), mostly as I was a sobbing (and slightly traumatised) mess by then.
That being said, the depth and emotions Ellie Keel infuses into her characters (Rose, Marta, Lloyd and Sami) was phenomenal and really helped to pull me through, as I was soo invested in seeing how things would pan out for them.
If you loved The Secret History or If We Were Villains then I definitely recommend checking this out!
Also a huge thank you to Harper Collins UK for my giveaway win of the proof.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Suicide
Moderate: Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit
Minor: Child abuse, Mental illness
I really really really hate when books don’t come with content warnings !!! This was v triggering.
I just didn’t really believe in any of the relationships that were forming at all… wish she’d stuck to the original ending too, but I understand the choice. Bonus points for being queer friendly
I just didn’t really believe in any of the relationships that were forming at all… wish she’d stuck to the original ending too, but I understand the choice. Bonus points for being queer friendly
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wish that I could unread this.
And content warnings because the author doesn’t give them: rape, sexual assault, self-harm, suicide/suicidal ideation, abuse, bullying, and you could probably put disordered eating under here too...in a book about 17 year olds
And content warnings because the author doesn’t give them: rape, sexual assault, self-harm, suicide/suicidal ideation, abuse, bullying, and you could probably put disordered eating under here too...in a book about 17 year olds
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes